In the videos he share on Instagram, he wears a respiratory mask with an activated carbon filter to protect himself from the “smell of death”. Tomer Peretz, a Israeli artisthas joined the volunteers of the NGO since Sunday Zaka. The organization is collecting the remains of victims of the Hamas terrorist attack, which left at least 1,200 dead in Israel, so that families can bury their loved ones according to Jewish funeral rites.
Reached by telephone, he tells 20 minutes “the horror and carnage” he witnessed at Kibbutz Beeri, 5 km from the Gaza Strip, where around a hundred Israelis were killed, according to emergency estimates. The artist, who served in the special forces in the past, claims in particular to have himself seen “heads and limbs of dead babies”, information that 20 minutes is not able to independently verify.
Tomer Peretz specifies that Zaka is opposed to photos of the corpses being taken or shared, out of “respect” for the families and for the dignity of the dead. On his Instagram account, you can see (be careful, the image is particularly shocking) a photo of a child’s bed, the pillow stained with blood. On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson also said that “decapitated heads” of babies and children had been found in Kfar Aza. In the process, Joe Biden confirmed it, declaring after meeting with Jewish community leaders: “I never thought I would see and have confirmed photos of terrorists beheading children. »
Where were you Saturday morning when Hamas struck Israel?
I live in Los Angeles but was visiting Tel Aviv when I heard the alarms. Like everyone else, I started making phone calls and sending messages to loved ones. On Sunday, I realized I couldn’t just stay home. I contacted a friend who works for Zaka. He collected more than 5,000 remains in twenty-five years. I joined his team at Kibbutz Beeri. There were around fifty of us, in teams of four. We began our recovery work. I have seen bodies of all ages, from babies a few months old to people in their 80s and 90s.
Israeli soldiers reported seeing mutilated baby bodies. Have you seen it witnessed?
Yes. I have seen everything. Dead baby heads and limbs. All. I held a body bag containing a baby (foreground in this article’s photo). He was maybe 75 cm tall. I don’t have the expertise to know if these heads were cut off or exploded (because of grenades). Even Zaka members with years of experience had never seen such carnage. I saw the horror with my own eyes. I’m an artist, I have a different perspective. I wish I could show this reality to the world, but I must respect Zaka’s wishes.
How many bodies were found in Beeri?
I do not know exactly. We put the body bags in a refrigerated truck. I took a photo with between 60 and 70 bodies in it. The only living beings my team found were two dogs.
Have you also been to Kfar Aza?
Yes. When I arrived, all the remains of Jewish victims had already been collected. I helped recover around forty terrorist bodies.
What message do you send to our readers, and more broadly to the international community?
I am an artist. I am not political. But I want people to know that there is a war going on right now. I was a member of the special forces years ago. I participated in wars in Gaza, in Jenin, in the West Bank. This war is beyond anything we have ever seen. They (the terrorists) cut people up. They took a man and cut off his fingers and one hand. He fled to a shelter and died (from smoke poisoning). They cut up bodies and burn civilians alive. What animal does this?